Tomer Simon, PhD

The 2022 ransomware attacks on Costa Rica had a profound impact on the functioning of its government. From compromised ministries and economic setbacks to a healthcare crisis and the declaration of a state of emergency, the government faced multifaceted challenges. During the last 20 years, governments around the world have started to deliver more services digitally using the internet and various digital platforms. When considered in tandem with the frequent occurrence of destructive cyber… רוצה לראות יותר

The 2022 ransomware attacks on Costa Rica had a profound impact on the functioning of its government. From compromised ministries and economic setbacks to a healthcare crisis and the declaration of a state of emergency, the government faced multifaceted challenges. During the last 20 years, governments around the world have started to deliver more services digitally using the internet and various digital platforms. When considered in tandem with the frequent occurrence of destructive cyber incidents that have caused crippling effects to various public sector organizations and increasingly target critical infrastructures and key state resources, an unsettling reality is revealed, one in which nations are becoming extremely vulnerable to hostile cyber incidents and attacks. In this article, we introduce and coin a new type of disaster definition, a “data disaster”. A data disaster is the result of a cyber-attack affecting national-level data that can lead to a market failure, the ruling government’s inability to govern, compromised national sovereignty, and even social or civil unrest. In this paper, we refer to such a situation as ‘Denial-of-Governance’. Given the potential impact of a Data Disaster on a nation’s security, stability, and sovereignty, we argue that such an event requires a specific and comprehensive legal and institutional framework that would enable and empower the state and its relevant actors to deal with such events effectively and efficiently. We also suggest some possible elements of such a framework, such as clear definitions, criteria, and processes for declaring, managing, and terminating a Data Disaster. רוצה לראות פחות

Organizations often focus on their employees’ abilities to effectively communicate and share knowledge in online collaborative activities. Social media technologies facilitate that process in organizations, where they are known as Enterprise Social Networks (ESN). To increase potential benefits, organizations may run an implementation process to increase the ESN’s acceptance and use. This study focused on one such platform, Yammer, which is making inroads into numerous industries. Specifically,… רוצה לראות יותר

Organizations often focus on their employees’ abilities to effectively communicate and share knowledge in online collaborative activities. Social media technologies facilitate that process in organizations, where they are known as Enterprise Social Networks (ESN). To increase potential benefits, organizations may run an implementation process to increase the ESN’s acceptance and use. This study focused on one such platform, Yammer, which is making inroads into numerous industries. Specifically, we addressed Yammer’s impact on communication and knowledge-sharing among organizational units in a multinational organization. This study unobtrusively assessed communication patterns before and after an ESN implementation process to measure impact. Data analysis performed on message interactions between employees on the Yammer platform suggested the implementation process had a positive impact on the number of messages, number of users, and weighted-degree SNA metric. This study also revealed that the implementation process positively impacted inter- and intra-organizational unit interactions. רוצה לראות פחות

How can you know if your job will be digitalized, automated, or robotized? Start with this questionnaire.

The widespread utilization of social media in recent terror attacks in major European cities should raise a “red flag” for the emergency medical response teams. The question arises as to the impact of social media during terror events on the healthcare system. Information was published well before any emergency authority received a distress call or was requested to respond. Photos published at early stages of the attacks, through social media were uncensored, presenting identifiable pictures of… רוצה לראות יותר

The widespread utilization of social media in recent terror attacks in major European cities should raise a “red flag” for the emergency medical response teams. The question arises as to the impact of social media during terror events on the healthcare system. Information was published well before any emergency authority received a distress call or was requested to respond. Photos published at early stages of the attacks, through social media were uncensored, presenting identifiable pictures of victims. Technological advancements of recent years decrease and remove barriers that enable the public to use them as they see fit. These attacks raise ethical considerations for the patients and their rights as they were outsourced from the medical community, into the hands of the public. The healthcare system should leverage social media and its advantages in designing response to terror, but this requires a re-evaluation and introspection into the current emergency response models. רוצה לראות פחות

During terror attacks, information with unknown credibility might circulate and people use rumors to compensate for information gaps. On 06.12.2014, three teenagers were kidnapped from a bus station in the West Bank and found dead after several days. A gag order was issued, causing interest in alternative sources of information. This study investigated how information spread through WhatsApp during the search operation using a participatory research approach. 13 rumors circulating on WhatsApp… רוצה לראות יותר

During terror attacks, information with unknown credibility might circulate and people use rumors to compensate for information gaps. On 06.12.2014, three teenagers were kidnapped from a bus station in the West Bank and found dead after several days. A gag order was issued, causing interest in alternative sources of information. This study investigated how information spread through WhatsApp during the search operation using a participatory research approach. 13 rumors circulating on WhatsApp were collected, nine of which were verified, and found to be true. A web-based survey revealed that 61.1% of 419 respondents received information regarding the kidnapping through WhatsApp; 38.9% through Facebook. Sources of two rumors and participation of emergency authorities in rumor dissemination were identified. Some rumors originated from the family and community of the abductees, while other WhatsApp messages included information and names of two abductees, which were not public at the time. When emergency authorities share unconfirmed information, it is perceived as more credible than information spread by citizens. During the operation, official representatives did not correct or refute any rumors. Locating the source of a rumor is challenging and thus it is important to actively investigate rumors in real-time in order to locate the source. רוצה לראות פחות

Social media tools are integrated in most parts of our daily lives, as citizens, netizens, researchers or emergency responders. Lessons learnt from disasters and emergencies that occurred globally in the last few years have shown that social media tools may serve as an integral and significant component of crisis response. Communication is one of the fundamental tools of emergency management. It becomes crucial when there are dozens of agencies and organizations responding to a disaster… רוצה לראות יותר

Social media tools are integrated in most parts of our daily lives, as citizens, netizens, researchers or emergency responders. Lessons learnt from disasters and emergencies that occurred globally in the last few years have shown that social media tools may serve as an integral and significant component of crisis response. Communication is one of the fundamental tools of emergency management. It becomes crucial when there are dozens of agencies and organizations responding to a disaster. Regardless of the type of emergency, whether a terrorist attack, a hurricane or an earthquake, communication lines may be overloaded and cellular networks overwhelmed as too many people attempt to use them to access information. Social scientists have presented that post-disaster active public participation was largely altruistic, including activities such as search and rescue, first aid treatment, victim evacuation, and on-line help. Social media provides opportunities for engaging citizens in the emergency management by both disseminating information to the public and accessing information from them. During emergency events, individuals are exposed to large quantities of information without being aware of their validity or risk of misinformation, but users are usually swift to correct them, thus making the social media "self-regulating". רוצה לראות פחות

Social media has demonstrated survivability, when other communication networks collapse and is thus used by the public and formal authorities in emergencies. A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for utilization of social media was developed to facilitate Jordanian-Israeli regional cooperation in response to earthquakes Based on extensive literature review, six categories, classified into 30 sub-categories were identified, for inclusion in the SOP. Two modified Delphi cycles were conducted to… רוצה לראות יותר

Social media has demonstrated survivability, when other communication networks collapse and is thus used by the public and formal authorities in emergencies. A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for utilization of social media was developed to facilitate Jordanian-Israeli regional cooperation in response to earthquakes Based on extensive literature review, six categories, classified into 30 sub-categories were identified, for inclusion in the SOP. Two modified Delphi cycles were conducted to achieve consensus among 28 experts consisting of first responders, disaster management, command and control, and regional cooperation personnel. All categories and 26 sub-categories reached the 75% target consensus threshold. Flow diagrams and functionality were compiled and presented for approval to the joint Jordanian-Israeli Development Strategy Forum, utilizing Nominal Group Technique. The study displayed that emergency experts from two bordering countries, can effectively use social media as a collaborative platform to share and exchange information during disasters, despite different protocols and methodologies. רוצה לראות פחות

השנה מציינים חמש שנים לרעידת האדמה ההרסנית שפגעה אנושות בהאיטי בינואר 2010. מדובר באחד מהאסונות החמורים והקשים ביותר בתקופה המודרנית שהביא למאמץ גלובלי של עשרות מדינות ומאות ארגונים להגיש סיוע מיידי לנפגעים, וסיוע בשיקום המדינה. היום, השיקום טרם הסתיים וכ-100,000 תושבים נמצאים עדיין ללא קורת גג קבועה. כתבה זו סוקרת את הפעילות הייחודית של משלחת הסיוע הרפואית של צה"ל להאיטי.

On September 2013 an attack on the Westgate mall in Kenya led to a four day siege, resulting in 67 fatalities and 175 wounded. During the crisis, Twitter became a crucial channel of communication between the government, emergency responders and the public, facilitating the emergency management of the event. The objectives of this paper are to present the main activities, use patterns and lessons learned from the use of the social media in the crisis.